Former Bernard Madoff aide Annette Bongiorno leaves Manhattan federal court in New York after testifying in her own defense against fraud charges. / Seth Wenig, AP

by Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY

by Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY

NEW YORK - Longtime Bernard Madoff assistant Annette Bongiorno told a jury Tuesday she backdated financial trades virtually every day during her 40-year-career - yet never knew she was aiding her boss's massive Ponzi scheme.

Testifying in her own defense for a second day against fraud and other charges, Bongiorno described an operation in which Madoff promised clients regular, high-interest gains; he told her to bring accounts "into line" after the fact to hit those targets; and she unquestioningly followed his instructions.

"Bernie only told me what he needed to tell me to get me to do my job," said Bongiorno, who oversaw the investment advisory business at the center of the infamous scam that stole as much as $20 billion from thousands of average investors, charities, celebrities, financial funds and other victims.

Even if Madoff had explained, "I wouldn't have understood it," said Bongiorno, who testified she never spoke to clients about the trading strategy that for decades purportedly delivered double-digit gains.

"He taught me a lot," she said. "But how to explain market strategy? I don't have a head for that. Never did and never will. Not my thing."

In its fifth month, the trial of Bongiorno and four other former Madoff employees is the first criminal case stemming from the fraud that collapsed in December 2008 with Madoff's arrest. He pleaded guilty without standing trial and is serving a 150-year prison term.

Tuesday's trial session was abruptly adjourned shortly after noon when an alternate juror required medical care for what appeared to be a respiratory ailment.

Bongiorno's defense relies on convincing the eight-woman, four-man Manhattan federal court panel that she spent decades as one of Madoff's closest aides without suspecting or willfully avoiding knowledge that he was masterminding the world's largest financial fraud.

Her surprise decision to testify poses a legal risk, because prosecutors will get a chance to cross-examine her, a process that could start as soon as Wednesday.

To support Bongiorno's contention, defense attorney Roland Riopelle asked her if she knew about the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a financial index that shows how 30 large, publicly owned U.S. firms fared during a financial market session.

"Can I explain to you what it is?" she asked. "No."

Trial evidence has shown she was enriched in salary, perks and gains from her own Madoff investment accounts - at least until the scam imploded.

Bongiorno testified that her final annual salary topped $340,000. Bongiorno said she also got checks as capital withdrawals from one of her trading accounts and believed she wasn't required to pay taxes on the amounts.

Court records show Bongiorno and her husband, Rudy, paid approximately $862,000 for a Boca Raton, Fla., vacation and retirement home, plus $1.4 million for the couple's residence in a New York City suburb near Long Island's north shore.

Federal prosecutors seek to take those properties and other assets in a civil forfeiture action.

Bongiorno testified that her Madoff investment accounts held approximately $50 million collectively at the time the scam collapsed. Riopelle asked whether she believed the amount was plausible.

"I thought I was very, very lucky - once," Bongiorno said, referring to the day the financial dream evaporated.

"Kind of like hitting the lottery," she said, adding, "I also worked very hard."